Building on yesterday’s post, what does it look like to be faithful in your ministry and trust God for significant impact when you can’t see any tangible miraculous signs? How can you be more like John the Baptist?
I’ll answer by way of personal reflection. Let me tell you a little about a guy who’s a lot like John the Baptist. We’ll call him Chip the Methodist.
I can think of so many examples of people who made a dramatic impact on me even though I’m sure they couldn’t see it at the time. Chip was easily in the top five. He took time to meet with me for coffee every Wednesday night at Alex’s Restaurant before I went to choir practice at Moncks Corner United Methodist Church, where we were both members. Chip was about 20 years older than me, and he had roughly half of the New Testament memorized. Literally.
I was only 16 years old, had freshly trusted Christ as my Savior, and was reading through the Gospels for the first time at a rapid pace. I was hungry for truth, full of zeal, and in great need of wisdom, knowledge, instruction and insight. I would come armed with a notepad full of questions I had collected during my reading. Chip helped me master some basic hermeneutical concepts, and nurtured a deep love and respect for the authority of God’s Word.
You’ve never heard Chip the Methodist speak at a major church growth conference. That’s not his gig. You’ll never see his name on the cover of a New York Times Bestseller. He has no aspirations to be an author.
But Chip’s ministry is present in every word I write, every sermon I preach, and every accomplishment God brings about through my life.
I’ll bet there’s someone you could invest in like Chip the Methodist invested in me. You don’t have to have half the New Testament memorized. Just a willing heart and a passion for Jesus.
Who knows what miraculous signs your faithful ministry will ultimately produce?
